A Quiet Weekend

I just woke up a little while ago. I haven't had too much trouble sleeping, which surprises me. Friday night and Saturday morning, I was letting myself sleep on either my right or left side since neither was painful, but then I woke up yesterday with my upper left arm swollen, so last night, I tried to stay just on my right side, which isn't easy. I rolled onto my back several times and tried sleeping like that, but it didn't work because (a) I hate to sleep on my back, and (b) that position made the whole surgical area and my arm throb. My arm is still swollen, which is freaking me out a bit, making me think that I already have lymphedema. I called the plastic surgeon and asked him about it, and he said it's probably just a reaction to the surgery that will subside and not lymphedema. But he did tell me to try to keep the arm elevated, which I am trying to do. But that means I can't be on the computer :(.

My pain levels are really low now. I haven't had any meds since about midnight, almost twelve hours, and I'd say I'm at a 1-2 for pain. The swelling in my arm is more bothersome and painful than the surgical area, in fact. So I think I will try to not take pain meds or muscle relaxants today, just the antibiotic and nausea med (and the latter only because I'm not sure whether it was the antibiotic making me sick on Friday).

I'd really like to try to wash my hair today. The last time I washed it was Wednesday just before my surgery, and it's really grossing me out. Kelly said we could try doing it in the kitchen sink, but the other option we thought about is out on our deck. We have a privacy fence, so no one could see, and it's not slippery, so I don't have to worry about falling. It's still so warm here that I don't think I'd get cold, even with no hot water. The cold water from the tap is so tepid as to be close to body temperature. So that will probably be the big project for the afternoon: Operation Hair Washing!

Yesterday was very quiet. I was on the computer most of the day, which probably wasn't great for my arm. My friend and coworker, Gretchen, came by with a mountain of food around 7:00. She brought mac and cheese, chicken salad, chicken noodle soup, and tortellini soup -- and LOTS of all of it! I think we'll need to freeze some; there's no way we'll be able to eat it all before it goes bad. What a sweetheart she is to do that, and from what she tells me, people at the library are lining up to be next to bring us food. And my long-distance friends, Alesia, Edie, and Frankie, want to hire a personal chef for us. Everyone really is being too kind.

I'm starting to get impatient to have this drain out, to the point that I'm counting the days/nights and really, really hoping that Dr. Heistein will take it out on Wednesday. It's bothersome on many counts: (a) it looks stupid under my shirt, (b) I can't bathe as long as it's in, and (c) the point at which it exits my body really itches, though it's one of those phantom itches that is happening at a site that's numb. I've never had such extensive numbness in my body before. It's pretty freaky. I'm afraid that if I scratch too hard, I'll hurt myself without knowing.

A bunch of the girls (Rafia, Erin, Gretchen, Barbi, others?) are having a BBQ at Erin's house today. They talked about doing it here, but I didn't think I'd be up for having a lot of people over for an extended period of time. I do think that I may feel up to going over there for a little while, however. Erin has a cat, so I won't be able to be in the house for any length of time (I'm deathly allergic), but as long as there's a shady spot outside, it should be pleasant. I just checked the weather, and the highs are supposed to be in the low 90s, not too bad.

That's about all that's going on here. Kind of a boring, mundane post, but I guess that's kind of nice for a change. Peace.

Jody